Borussia Mönchengladbach without Marcus Thuram in the derby against 1. FC Köln
Thuram is out
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This is Borussia’s staff for the derby against Cologne
13 images This is what Borussia’s starting XI could look like against Cologne
Photo: dpa/Daniel Karmann
Moenchengladbach Adi Hütter has to do without Marcus Thuram in the derby against 1. FC Köln. It has not yet been clarified whether and how long the Frenchman will be absent. In the starting eleven he could be replaced by a Borussia who has just celebrated his comeback.
Two days before the derby against 1. FC Köln (Saturday, 6:30 p.m.) in the sold-out Borussia Park, Borussia coach Adi Hütter had bad news to announce on Thursday: “Marcus Thuram’s muscles are damaged. He’s injured in the rear thigh. We still have to do a second control MRI, then we can report more precisely,” said Hütter.
Thuram had already missed the start of the training week on Tuesday, but Hütter was still hoping that the Frenchman, who was involved in four goals in his past five cases, would soon be fit again. Thuram’s failure forced Hütter to rebuild his starting eleven.
Jonas Hofmann, who celebrated his comeback in last week’s 2-0 win at SpVgg Greuther Fürth, is the favorite for the Thuram position. “When I talk to him, I get the feeling that he’s dying to be back. He doesn’t remember anything about the injury. He’s someone who has already played several derbies and is certainly a player who can help us again at the weekend,” said Hütter, who described Hofmann as the “game-determining player”.
29 images These are Borussia’s derby heroes against Cologne
Photo: dpa/Maja Hitij
Hofmann has played in eight Rhenish derbies with Borussia. His record: five wins, three losses. In the 1: 4 bankruptcy in the first leg, the international had scored the interim equalizer.
In addition to Thuram, Joe Scally could not be in the first eleven compared to last week, although the 19-year-old is fit. However, this also applies to Ramy Bensebaini and Luca Netz, who were able to complete the entire training week after their interfaces. Bensebaini should therefore start on the left.
Veteran Tony Jantschke showed up on Thursday with a thick bandage on his hand, but that won’t prevent him from at least sitting on the bench in the derby. “He broke his little finger in training, but that’s not a problem,” Hütter announced. After the final training session on Friday, which is closed to the public, he will finally decide who can start against Cologne in front of 54,042 spectators.
Here is the photo gallery: This is what Borussia’s starting eleven could look like against Cologne